


Succor

by eiluned



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Gen, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-05
Updated: 2012-12-05
Packaged: 2017-11-20 10:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/584522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eiluned/pseuds/eiluned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha had no idea how they ended up that way, but the Avengers were in what Clint would probably call a “cuddle puddle.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Succor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chezamanda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chezamanda/gifts), [SidheRa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SidheRa/gifts), [EuphoricSound](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EuphoricSound/gifts).



> For my girls, because the fangirl hive mind has spread the crappy day around. I love you three!
> 
> There are shades of Clint/Natasha in this, but it's pretty much just gen teamfic. I hope you enjoy! Feedback is always welcome.

Natasha had no idea how they ended up that way, but the Avengers were in what Clint would probably call a “cuddle puddle.”

It had started when Steve walked in when she and Clint were spooning. The mission had been bad all around -- bad intel, bad planning, and bad guys. And contrary to popular belief, Natasha did have emotions. Very strong emotions. She just chose to tuck them away when she was around people (Clint excepted, because she trusted him with more than her life), because what she’s feeling was no one’s business.

But Steve walked in when the tears were in full flow. She tried to sit up and turn away, but Clint held onto her, whispering soothing nonsense, and after a second, Steve came over and quietly sat down on the floor in front of the couch, reaching up to take her hand. He had been badly shaken by the mission, too; she could see it in the shadows under his eyes, the tight line of his mouth. She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed hers back.

And then Tony found the three of them. When it came down to it, Tony was the one who was least accustomed to the sort of atrocities that the rest of them had seen. Clint and Steve were soldiers; they’d both been in war zones. Natasha has perpetrated enough of those atrocities to last more than a lifetime. Bruce had inserted himself into some of the worst environments on Earth to try to atone for his own sins. Thor was an alien warrior and had probably seen crazy shit that none of them could even imagine.

But Tony had spent most of his life oblivious to the atrocities that stemmed from his own creations. The time he spent in a cave in Afghanistan had opened his eyes, for certain, but he still hadn’t developed the kinds of coping mechanisms the rest of them used to deal with what they had to see as Avengers.

He stood in the doorway for a long moment, his eyes even more shadowed and red than Steve’s, and then he motioned with his hand. “Come on,” he said, jerking his head to the side when she gave him a quizzical look. “There’s a better room for this kind of thing.”

The better room turned out to be the media room on Tony’s floor, and it was already occupied. Bruce was seated in lotus position in the center of the giant field of cushions that covered half the floor, and Thor was at the floor-to-ceiling window, staring out at the nighttime city. They both turned to look when the other four team members came through the door, and for a second, no one moved. Natasha wondered if this sudden, mutual need for comfort would vanish when all six of them were shoved together again.

But then Bruce moved over a little, and Thor came to sit with his back against the bolster cushions, and then the cuddle puddle formed. Clint curled protectively around Natasha’s back again when she settled on the cushions, and Bruce lay on his side in front of her, his cool hands seeking hers out. Steve collapsed next to Thor, and with how close they all were, she and Clint ended up using Thor’s legs as a pillow while Bruce’s head was on Steve’s legs. Tony was the last to join in, and when Natasha looked over her shoulder at him, he was standing, feet half-sunken into the cushions, looking at the growing pile of people with an odd expression on his face, like he was desperate to fit in with them but was afraid to get close and take that chance.

“Come on, Stark,” she said, giving him a faint smile.

Steve waved him over, and Tony flopped down on the cushions with a huge sigh of relief, or maybe just contentment, putting his back against Bruce’s and resting his head on Steve’s legs, too.

Natasha never really thought of herself as a cuddler. She liked cuddling with Clint, of course, but it wasn’t something she really sought out before him. She didn’t even really like being touched by anyone other than Clint, but there was something intensely comforting about Bruce’s hands covering hers, Clint’s warm body snuggled against her back, the strength of Thor’s legs supporting her head. Steve gave her a tired smile, and Tony sighed again, pressing his back against Bruce’s.

Pepper found them that way later, everyone dozing off on each other’s shoulders, finally feeling safe and secure with the team. “Bad mission?” she whispered when Natasha caught her eye.

Natasha nodded, and Pepper mimed making coffee, disappearing out of the media room. It had been a bad mission, but Natasha thought something good had come from it.


End file.
